Wavefront Celebrates 10 Years of Supporting Canadian Innovation

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - July 25, 2017) - Wavefront Wireless Commercialization Centre Society ("Wavefront"), a Centre of Excellence based in Vancouver, BC, is marking the 10^th anniversary of its launch this week.

In 2007, the Government of British Columbia provided funding of $5 million to Wavefront to support the province's emerging wireless industry. Since then, Wavefront has expanded its programs and services to support more than 1,000 companies across the country and has been designated Canada's Centre of Excellence for Wireless Commercialization and Research. Wavefront has grown into Canada's leader in transforming businesses through mobile and the Internet of Things (IoT), helping startups accelerate their time to market and scale up, small-medium enterprises (SMEs) expand to global markets and large organizations digitally transform and adopt new technologies.

Wavefront's significant economic impact includes:

• 6,700+ jobs created
• $418m in GDP generated
• Time to market accelerated by 4-5 months
• $14.70 in economic benefits for every $1 in public funding

(Impact attributed by Wavefront companies in Economic Impact Report 2011-2016. Read more.)

Wavefront is expanding its reach to enterprise solutions, connecting large companies seeking to innovate with digital solutions providers.

Wavefront's support has included:

• Accelerator services: More than 200 Canadian companies have taken part in Wavefront programs offering training, mentorship and networking.
• Expanding to global markets: 330 companies have taken part in Global Market Entry trips to 35 countries.
• Access to partnerships: Wavefront has helped more than 100 companies solve wireless challenges by connecting them with our national Trusted Partner Network.
• Testing: Developers have recorded more than 5,000 rental days using more than 407 handsets through Wavefront's seven Wireless Zones across the country this year.
• Events: Wavefront has hosted hundreds of training programs, networking events and four national Summits.

"The wireless revolution is one of the most transformative technology waves, both socially and economically. Wavefront has been at the forefront in Canada for the past 10 years," says James Maynard, President and CEO of Wavefront. Maynard has been at the helm of Wavefront since Day One. "The change is continuing, with tremendous opportunities for Canadian companies to grow and prosper. Today we're celebrating the accomplishments of the past decade, but in fact, we're just getting started."

Wavefront is celebrating its 10^th anniversary with a reunion of companies, partners and community supporters on July 25, 5-8 pm on the plaza at Guinness Tower, 1055 West Hastings. Media are invited.

About Wavefront

Wavefront is Canada's leader in transforming business through mobile and IoT innovation. We are a centre for commercialization for companies in the wireless and IoT technologies space. Our vision is to build a globally relevant, nationally connected ecosystem that delivers digital capacity, competitiveness and prosperity for Canadians.